EP48 | 3 Critical Practices to Uplevel Your Impact in 2023

Zach Arend: Welcome back to the Create Purpose Podcast. So if you listen to the last episode, I shared with you some shifts that you can make to be more with ease in 2023, how you can go about growing your business with more ease and effortlessness. next year. And from sharing those shifts, I now wanna move into, we'll just call this part two of that episode because of today, I have three critical practices for you to up level your impact in 2023.

These are practices. These are tools to help you increase your self-awareness. Around how you can maximize your impact, how you can maximize your role in your business and in your life. These are three things that I did 12 to 18 months ago that now looking back on the past year, these were the three game changers for me, and I want to share with you the actual.

Tools that I applied to gain the clarity, and this is the same clarity I help many of my clients with who are creative entrepreneurs, impact driven business owners, visionaries, creatives, artists, helping them get clear on how they can up level their approach in creating more impact and finding more leverage through building teams and expanding and thinking bigger about what's possible for them in their business.

So these three tools are probably the three most critical tools that I use myself and I teach my clients. So let's get into it. So where was I 12, 18 months ago? And maybe you can relate to this , you know that feeling where you end the day, you end the week and you're just kind of like, God I don't wanna keep doing this.

I'm tired and this isn't really what I want to be doing. More days than not, felt exhausted at the end of the day. Just felt drained. It was subtle. And things were good. There was so much to be grateful for. So much good things were coming. But if I was really being honest with myself, there was still things that I was doing that I didn't really want to be doing, and I found that it was very draining for me, and I knew there was greater possibilities, greater potentials within me if I could just find the time.

I remember telling myself, if I could just find the time, if I had more time, I could do these things, if I didn't have to do that or this. And yet I tolerated that for a long time, until I started leaning into some of these tools I'm gonna share with you. And so these three tools help me do some things, help me get clear on what energized and what drained me first and foremost.

Cuz at first I wasn't even aware of that. And I'm willing to bet that you might not be aware of exactly what energizes and drains you. It's just so happens some days you feel more higher than others if you will. More energized than others. , but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was the difference, why on this Thursday did I feel so energized and why the next time I'm just tired.

What was it, what was the distinctions? So I got clear on those and then I got really clear on what my zone of genius is. And we're gonna talk about that today in this episode, that zone of genius because that zone of genius is what you love to do, you're great at. It's the unique work that.

It's uniquely yours to do and only yours to do. Only you can do it and you love doing it. And I got really clear on what that was and that helped me get clear on what wasn't that, so that I can start stripping away everything that was not in my zone of genius. I'm gonna talk to you about some of the steps that I took that you can take to do that.

These are the same steps a lot of my clients will go through as well. And then one of the biggest things is I started asking a different question. Who, not how. I notoriously have been the Jack of all trades, meaning I can dabble in a lot of things, but going deep in a few things. Never really done that.

I've been referred to as the Jack of all trades the Swiss Army knife, but yet that was hurting me more than it was helping me in some areas. And I had to start asking a different question and it was a question of who not how. And so that's a little bit of where we're going next.

I'm gonna just shoot you straight cuz I think where you're at this time of year, you're busy. You don't want to consume just a bunch of information. I don't want you to, I want to give you something practical and usable that you can put yourself in a position to create more of what you want in the new year, and that starts with reflection.

That starts with really understanding why things are the way they are, so that you can then create a plan to address that. In the next episode that we do, we will spend some more time looking at how do we create the future we want. , but today is all about self-awareness, really getting clear on why things are the way they are, what's working, what's not working, and how you can see that more clearly so that you can start to make some changes.

So let's just get into it. I have three practices for you today that will help you really up level the year, find more energy, find more that effortless flow and that ease as you move into 2023, and you know what the outcome of that will. , greater results, more profit, more growth, less stress. It just will, cuz when you can find that and get aligned with it, everything does get easier and hello Joy.

You feel more joy and inner peace when you can lean into this. So that's what's in it for you if you stay with me for the rest of this conversation. So what are the three practices? For you to do right now before the year is over to get more clear on that for you to really understand why things are the way they are.

I'm gonna share three and I'm just gonna give them to you practically. I'm gonna Walk you through how to use them and then don't listen to this episode if you don't plan on blocking off some time to do this stuff because that's where the gold is. So what I'm saying is, If you're listening just for some interesting ideas and some insights that's not this episode, the insights come when you do the work that I'm about to show you and you're gonna get some powerful insights.

So number one is the tool is I want you to do a resonance audit.

Resonance. I love that word resonance. What resonates with you as opposed to what doesn't resonate with you? Where there's dissonance. You think of a tuning fork. You know when the sound is in harmony, it's in tune it's in resonance.

But you also know when it's out of tune, there's dissonance. It hurts the ears. And when you're in resonance, you're energized, you're in flow. Things are just easy and effortless. But when you're in dissonance, it's very constrictive. It's draining. It's exhausting. And I want us to do an audit around our lives and our business and our day-to-day to understand.

What's in resonance and what is not in resonance. That's actually dissonance.

I want you to think of resonance as the energizers in your life, and the dissonance is the drainers. So energizers and drainers. So here's how this exercise works, and again, for you to get the benefit of this, you have to do it.

Pull out a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle. So now you have two columns. In the left column, I want you to title that resonance. If you want to put underneath of it, energizers. These are the things that really light you up. They energize you, that you almost do them with ease. You get energy from them, you enjoy them, you look forward to them.

That's resonance. And then on the other side, I want you to write dissonance or drainers. These are the things that kind of suck the life outta, you. After you leave those things, you feel more tired than you started they're exhausting. And I want you to create those two columns on a sheet of paper.

Frankly, I want you to let this exercise happen over the next couple weeks. I want you to have it on your desk by your workstation, or on your phone or your laptop so that you can add to it as time goes on. Because sometimes we don't realize what's going on until it happens and that's that opportunity to just make a note.

So you have your sheet of paper, you have two columns. Resonance is on the left, dissonance is on the right, and I want you to think about. The people. Think about people that you associate with. Maybe there are people on your team, friends, family, community, you know the people. What are the people in the interactions with people?

Which ones are in resonance and which ones drain you. And there's dissonance. So think about people. Think about places like different places you are, like maybe where you work, your workplace, the space you've created to do your creative work. Does it drain you? Does it energize you?

Projects. What projects are you tackling or did you tackle in this year? Which ones did you feel really resonated with you and which ones really drained you? There was dissonance. Just felt like it wasn't quite your unique work. It felt unnatural. What tasks, day-to-day tasks, big or small? This is why I encourage you to do this exercise over a series of weeks because look at your calendar.

Where do you spend your time. Pull up your inbox, your Archive emails, the stuff you've deleted, the emails you've sent. Those are great places to go to just be like, where have I spent my time? And that email or that conversation or that task, do I feel in resonance with that? Like, Is that energizing for me or if I really being honest, that's draining there's so much dissonance that is not uniquely my work.

I don't enjoy it. And then lastly, look at your thoughts. I'm asking you to think about your thinking because here's an example.

One of the thoughts that I caught early on that I'm like, this thought literally creates dissonance for me in my life and how I show up.

It was the thought of I don't have enough I would go, I'd get home at the end of the day and I would whine to my wife and just say, babe, I just I don't have enough time. I wanna do all this stuff. I just don't have enough time. I don't have enough time. And finally she just looked at me.

She's like, you're the one choosing how to spend your time. You know, Sometimes the people that know you just call you out. But she was right. But it wasn't whether or not I had enough time. Time is made up any, I mean, it is we all have the same amount of time. We've heard that cliche, like we all had the same amount of time.

It's just how we choose to use it. That's true, but it doesn't always mean it's common practice. But I had to go to work on the thinking because as long as I told myself the story, I don't have enough time. What happens while I feel overwhelmed and anxious and rushed and that's exhausting.

And how I would show up would be not fully present. And rushing through life, and I had to change the story. I had to realize that thought of I don't have enough time is in the dissonance category. Every time I'm in that story, I fall into dissonance and that drains my energy, that drains my life.

I need to pick a different story, and I shifted and I started telling myself a new story and it was a mantra. I started telling myself I need to do nothing what if you were to take that on in 2023? I need do nothing. And that's to,

push back against that inner critic that's always telling you, you should be doing this, oughta be doing that.

I need to be doing this. I should be doing this. I, you know who, it's exhausting. And I had to interrupt that and I just took a breath. I need to do nothing. And all of a sudden it's like the debris settle. and then I could listen to my heart and my gut and there was this desire. I was like, you know what I want to do right now?

I want to create this. I wanna talk to so-and-so, and I would do that. But I had to quiet the noise of all the stuff I felt like I ought to be doing.

I need do nothing. So that was an example of a story that I was telling myself all because I did this resonance audit. I just started looking at my life and I started categorizing which column does this go on?

Does it go on the left because it's energizing and it's in resonance with who I am? Or is it go on the right? It's out of resonance. It's dissonant. It's draining it. It doesn't allow me, it doesn't serve me in being the person I desire to be, the leader I desire to be. So that's the first practice. Do a resonance audit.

It's probably one of the most powerful things you could do. And I'm gonna encourage you, don't do it once year. Do it at least every 90 days, every quarter. Pull that sheet of paper out again, check in, because if you're like me, the business is changing. Things are changing. New opportunities come and go.

Life changes, and it's good to check in and just, you're simply like asking yourself what's working for me? What's in resonance? What's not working for me? And allowing. enough space to do that. Cuz if you don't, you're just living under the story that you need to do everything. And I say you need to do nothing unless you choose to do it.

And if you are choosing to do it then it's your choice. You're responsible for it. Nobody's making you do anything. Unless you have young kids. If you have little kids at home, yes you are responsible to take care of them. You have to that's your responsibility. But when it comes to your employees, your team.

I was on a podcast recently with Lou Corleto and he shared this, distinction with me and I loved it. It's so simple. As adults, as leaders, we are responsible to our team. We're responsible for fulfilling our role. That's our responsibility to our team, but we're not responsible for them. You're not responsible for your employees.

That puts. I'm gonna say it, it's a triggering word, but I'm gonna say it. That puts them in a victim position. You're communicating them that there's somebody who needs your help, and that's not true. They're powerful. You're responsible to them. You have a role to play, but you're not responsible for them.

When you and I become an adult, we are the one ultimately responsible for our own lives. And every time we get that out of alignment, it's gonna hurt us more than help us. And as leaders, we need to see that in proper perspective.

And this resonance audit is gonna help you do that. The two columns is gonna put you back into responsibility, and I love that word.

I think being responsible is a cool life. You get to be the captain of the ship. You get to choose, you're in control. That's a cool life. So that's practice number one, resonance audit the next. And this is a practice of getting clear on what your zone of genius is. Zone of genius is a term , that came from a book called The Big Leap.

If you haven't read that book, it's a book that I try to read once a year. Honestly, I try to read it around this time of year. The Big Leap in the book, it's written by Gaye Hendricks. In the book, he talks about this idea of zone of genius. It's what you love to do. You, it lights you up. You would do it even if you didn't get paid to do it.

You love it and you're good at it and it provides impact to others. It's your zone of genius. When you find your zone of genius, life gets a lot more simpler and you actually start to find real leverage where you're actually spending less time doing what you do, but you're getting way higher impact. Higher income, higher profit, higher growth, higher sales, everything just flows to you way more effortlessly.

It's really getting down to the, what is the small percentage of things that I do that really bring the most results. That's your zone of genius. And so here's the practice. I've got four questions for you, taken right outta I'm using Gaye Hendricks's questions cuz they're so good. I'm not gonna reinvent the wheel.

This book is good. Check it out. The Big Leap by Gaye Hendricks. He asked four genius questions. These four questions are designed to help you find your zone of genius. So these are four questions that this is the practice. I want you to sit down and ask these question. To yourself and journal on these four questions, and I'm gonna share them with you.

Now, if you wanna, you buy the book it's go on Amazon, it's an ebook. This is from, I think this all starts on page 1 22 of the book. So if you wanna flip to that or you can just re-listen to this podcast, here are the four questions that are going to help you identify your zone of genius.

Why does that matter? Because, that's what's gonna move the dial for you next year. The more you're in your zone of genius, the more results just are gonna flow to you effortlessly. I think we all want more of that , right? What if it didn't have to be so hard and feel like such an uphill climb?

Far often the reason it feels like an uphill slog is because we're trying to do it all instead of trusting in our zone of genius and just doing it. So how do we find our zone of genius? These four questions. Question number one, genius. Question number one, and this is a question I want you to ask yourself.

What do I most love to do? What do you most love to do? And you're gonna have to create some space for yourself to really sit with that question and you love it so much. that you can do it for long stretches of time without ever getting tired or bored. So what do you love to do so much that you can do it for long stretches of time without getting tired or bored?

What comes to mind? That's question one. Question two, what work do I do that doesn't seem like work. A good indication is people are like, I don't know how you can do that. I don't know how you can sit for hours and just make that or do that. People come to me all the time I don't know how you can have those types of conversations day in, day out.

That would be so draining for me. And I'm like, it's not for me. I love it. It lights me up. I live for it. So what work do I do that doesn't seem like work? I can do it all day long without ever feeling tired or bored. So what is it that you do? What work do you do that doesn't feel like work? You can do it all day long without feeling bored or tired.

What comes to mind? That's question number two. Question number three in my work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to the amount of time spent? Even if I do only 10 seconds or a few minutes of it, an idea or a deeper connection may spring forth, that leads to huge value. So for me, what that has become is I'm learning that I like to journal, I like to write, I like to work on content for these podcasts.

Like my favorite time, I did it this morning. I had to meet my trainer at 6:00 AM. For at the gym, and it's earlier than I like to start the workouts, but hey, I was committed to him and that's cool. Like when you get committed to somebody else, you tend to show up. And I showed up, but I was up around five, had coffee, and I had about 20 minutes.

And I sat down with my planner and my journal and actually started putting together what I wanted to share in today's episode. And I noticed myself feeling energized. And it was only like 15 minutes, but I felt energized by doing. So what is the work you know that produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction for the amount of time you spend?

Even if it's for 10 seconds or 15 minutes, it's a game changer for you. It energizes you. What are those activities? So that was question number three. Question number four, and this is one. It's best to slow down, get grounded, get into your breath, and just quiet the noise in your head and really listen for what comes up for you.

it's Like you're subconsciously asking yourself this question, and the question is, what is my unique ability? If you were to put your hand on your heart and just listen to yourself and ask yourself, what is my unique ability? What's that special skill that I'm gifted with? This unique ability and fully realized and put to work can provide enormous benefits to me and any organization I serve, anybody I serve.

What is that unique ability? What is my unique ability? Those are the four questions that Gaye Hendricks asked in his book. I found those so helpful. I wanted to share those with you. What do I most love to do? What work do I do that doesn't seem like work? And in my work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to amount of time spent?

And what is my unique ability? I am gonna give you one additional practice around finding your zone of genius. This is gonna bring it home for you. I believe in self-reflection and self-awareness, but then getting the experiences of others and seeing what they see in you. Because oftentimes we are the last ones to see our zone of genius.

We are the last ones to see our greatness, and that's why I want you to take this a step further and ask people. Ask people, ask your team members. Ask your friends and family. Ask people that are just acquaintances. Ask them the question, Hey, what do you see as my zone of genius? Zone of genius.

It's just what I do naturally. And you're inspired by it. You're like, you just notice that I'm really good at that thing. That's my zone of genius. What do you see as my zone of genius? What do you experience from me that you. Are like, wow, I don't know.

Usually the reactions, I don't know how they do that. I can never do that. So just ask 'em that question. What's my zone of genius? And then when they give you a response, I'm gonna give you a bonus assignment. As a thank you. I want you to reply back to them with what as their zone of genius return.

That gift, cuz it's one of the greatest gifts you can receive. So often we don't share the positive. We just don't, and it feels so good. I remember doing this a year ago. I got emails back and some of them were really short to the point, extremely helpful. Some of 'em, I got more than I couldn't have imagined, and it shocked the hell out of me.

I was like, oh my God, I had no idea. oftentimes what I is, I downplayed. Those parts of me. What? That's easy. Yeah, like it's no big deal. It is no big deal to you because it's your zone of genius. It's effortless, it's easy, it's natural. That's why we're the last to see it.

We just discount it. We diminish it. So let other people speak to your greatness. Ask for that. Ask them to share. Hey, what do you see? My zone of genius? , you know me, you've worked with me. What about me most impresses you because I'm trying to learn about what my zone of genius is.

My coach, asked me to do this assignment, and so I wanted to ask you what's my zone of genius? So that's practice number two, how you can get clear on your zone of genius. Practice number three. And this is of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself as you move into the new year.

And that is who, not how this is inspired by the book. It's by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy. It's another book I encourage you to read once a year Who Not How is the book by Ben Hardy. It's Dan Sullivan's work, but Ben Hardy wrote the book and it's a phenomenal book. There's a quote in the book I wanna share with you.

It's a quote in the form of a series of questions. So I'm gonna read these to you and I'm gonna ask them directly to you. These are questions that I'm asking you from the book. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you have who's in your life that give you the perspectives, resources, and ability to go beyond what you could do alone?

Do you have those people in your life, giving you perspectives, resources, and the ability to go beyond what you could do alone, or are you keeping your goals so small to make them easier to accomplish them on your own? I'm gonna read that again. Are you keeping your goals so small so that they're easier to accomplish on your own?

That requires some radical honesty and self-awareness to answer that. This was probably the most powerful insight for me about, it was year and a half ago, where I started realizing, I'm like, you know what? I'm allowing what I believe I can do to limit what's possible because as soon as I invite it, and this is what I've done over the, this past year, I hired a coach, actually two coaches.

I surrounded myself with new perspectives and they really challenged me to think bigger. And as soon as I started thinking bigger, a whole new world opened up. Besides the coach, I outsourced my marketing efforts. I started working with a team. They did it for me. They built my website.

They built some of my content, my courses, my workshops. They're the very reason I'm able to be hosting a workshop on January 5th. The fully express leader they helped me do what would've taken me 18 months to do. We got it done in six months. I outsourced it. I gave it to. because I knew that the, who was gonna be better than, than me.

They were gonna do it way better than I could have done it. And I had to start focusing on who and not how. And I also, I hired a virtual assistant. I'm like, you know what? I don't like doing the schedulings and the lunch orders for some of these events I do. And I'm like, I got a va. She's helping me with doing all that.

So I got coaches around me. I outsourced some projects to experts, and then I got some help to so that I could free myself up for my zone of genius. Who, not how. So go back and look at your zone of genius. Look at your resonance audit. Those energizers, those drainers. and what would be the opportunity if you spent more and more of your time in resonance with who you are, your zone of genius, and you started to let go of those things that are on the right side of your piece of paper, the drainers, the dissonant activities.

Who would you need in your life to give you those new expansive perspectives? Who would you need on your team to allow you to move more and more in the direction of your zone of genius, of resonance, and let go of everything that's not. that's The final practice is to reflect on those two questions.

Who would you need in your life to give you new, expansive perspectives That might be a coach, that might be a mentor, somebody who's further along the path than you are, just somebody to get some outside perspective. And then who do you need on your team to start delegating some of this stuff? on a note on delegation, I want you to think hard about.

Instead of delegating tasks, I want you to start delegating roles in your business. And that's a whole nother episode. If you'd like some support with that you can email me dme, that's a whole topic of beginning really clear on what the roles are in your business so that you can start to delegate roles, not tasks.

Cuz when you delegate roles, it's like a whole new. opens up, you just clean your plate, you clear the deck for more and more of the work that you're uniquely suited to do, your zone of genius, and that's what I want for you. That's what I help my clients do. I see greatness in every single one of my clients.

I help them see it for themselves, and I help them fulfill on it, and their business grows as a result. So if you wanna lean into that on January 5th. I'm hosting a full day virtual workshop called the Fully Express Leader. This day is all about getting really clear on your vision. one of the attendees I hosted this 30 days ago.

She gave me feedback. She said, your ability to help me think bigger was a game changer. Within the first hour, I was able to think bigger about my business. I got so much energy, and by the end of the day, I was so ready to start tackling some things that I otherwise was telling myself I wasn't ready for.

So if you would benefit from that, thinking bigger, getting some clarity, and then learning some practical tools for you to start fulfilling on your vision and your dream, then be there January 5th, the Fully Express Leader. Go to www.zacharend.Com. You can spell my name, Z A C H A R E N d.com.

zacharend.com/workshop , if I'm you, I'm there. If you've made it this far and you're reflecting on these questions, and I would encourage you to do this work before you come into the session on January 5th, because that day is just gonna be like pouring gas on a fire.

Because that day is all about helping you find those bold next steps and getting you to move into, Because I think deep down, we all want to know that we can have what we desire and we want to start boldly moving in that direction. And I wanna support you on that journey. So if you, if that resonates with you, go check that out.

www.zacharend.Com. My last name is a r e n d z a c h A r e N d.com/workshop. So that's a wrap. That's the episode. This was about something you now need to do. If you don't do the practice, you only got 10% of what you could be getting. There's 90% of gold. If you just slow back down, maybe go back through this episode, listen to the question, pause it, write, journal, and go through this process.

A lot of clarity's gonna come from this and with clarity, you get to commit. You get to see what needs to be addressed, and you get to be responsible and make some shifts in your life that'll become a game changer for you in 2023. Also be looking for my next episode because in the next episode, we're gonna continue to talk about what it looks like to create what you want in your business, in your life.

In 2023, it's gonna be an episode all about creation and creating what you want and we're gonna go even deeper in that, in the fully expressed leader workshop on January 5th, so be sure to go check that out. And yeah I look forward to seeing you there. And you know what, if you have any questions and you're not sure it's right for you, reach out.

DM me on Instagram at Zach dot Arend. My website, www.zacharend.Com, reach out. I'd love to find some time to just connect with you, answer your questions to make sure that workshop is designed to serve you. And you have my commitment to play full out in that day, and you're gonna get some really cool insights that I promise you that your 2023 will be different as a result of spending a day with me.

So hope to see you there. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.

Real quick, I have a question for you. What would it look and feel like for you to lead your team and build your business with more clarity, confidence, and conviction?

That's why I want to invite you to the fully expressed leader. It's a full day workshop, virtual workshop to learn how to lead from the inside out. This is for creatives, artists, executives, and right brain business owners who are ready to be the. Fully expressed leader they were meant to be. My promise to you is that by the end of this full day together, you're going to be able to identify the critical element in your business that you've been ignoring.

You're gonna know the secret to unleash the full potential of your team and start to see responsibility as a gift and not a burden you're gonna make leading from the inside out your new automatic default. What I love most about this day is I get to see the change in those that do the work. They come in exhausted and they leave energized.

Later on, when they check back in with me, they tell me that it's like someone turned the lights on. What once felt impossible? Now feels inevitable. To learn more, go to www.cratepurpose.net/. This day is not about doing more. It's a way of being a way for you to shift your approach to building your business on your terms.

So go check it out, https://www.zacharend.com/workshop. 

Hopefully you really enjoyed this podcast episode and my hope is you found it. Really inspirational.

And also most importantly, I hope you took away some practical things that you can start to do and apply in your own life. So finally, I have one small favor to ask of you before you go, wherever you get your podcast, whether that's apple music or Spotify. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review.

Love to hear your thoughts. Come find us on social media, share it on social media. It just really helps us get the word out, helps us grow our audience. So please do that. Thanks to my team, Ashley Bolden, who handles all the admin and Chris skipper who handles all the music and editing of this podcast for more information on the.

Purpose podcast, you can go to https://www.zacharend.com/, and you can also follow me on Instagram, @zach.arend. Please drop me a comment. Reach out, drop me a DM. I'd love to hear from you and love to hear what you're taking away from these conversations. What would you like to hear more of? Do you have any guests that you would love to see?

Come on the show. And I'm always looking for great people to talk to and people with great stories that can inspire you. And so if you know of anybody send, 'em my way, love to hear from you. I'm your host, Zach Arend and I'll see you in the next episode of the Create Purpose Podcast. Bye for now.